- On this page you'll find the tale of Aquí's missing nails
- there are some pictures to illustrate the recuperation - the first two pictures are not 'nice', please scroll downward fast if you have a queasy stomach
- in about four months, they have grown back from 'scratch'!
Around the 10th of July 2009, Aquí came home missing two of her middle nails of both her back-paws. A mystery!
The vet was as surprised and worried as I was... did it happen in a car accident?
(no further injuries were found) or did she slip from a tree, from a wall or a fence?
We'll never know!
I made a series of pictures to show the re-growth of the nails - if it was to happen at all.
The four nails could only grow back if some 'nail-tissue' had remained on the ends
of her toes; the vet wasn't even sure they would re-grow.
the right paw, just bloody stumps where there
should be two claws (middle toes)
the left paw with just raw 'ends'
To keep the infection at bay, we had to bathe her toes each evening
in a bath of BioTex. Aquí got very inventive in avoiding them
- but I got smarter as well!
The first few days were horrible: we both had a trauma from catching,
running, crawling and hurting each other just to get those paws in
the water for a few seconds.
But after ten days, it had become such a daily routine that Aquí let
me bathe her: our record was 40 seconds in the bath
- with both paws at once and no clawing at my arms!
After a few weeks, it seemed the nails were starting to grow back slowly. 
on the 15th of September, you could see the
'white' appear again on the third claw
(the second was still very short)
Now, I think I can say the body of a cat is truly marvellous, to repair itself this way.
Even the vet had never seen such stumps before and is amazed at how well they've healed!
I made a bet at work to treat them to a nice cup of coffee from Lebkov if Aquí's claws returned
- it now seems I have to owe up ;-)
on the 27th of September, I saw that the
'crescent-shape' had returned to her claws
and when she jumped on a high table,
her (left hind) paw left this impression:
all nails were there again to carry her weight!
Aquí's pretty tail ('chocolated-dipped' according to various tourists!)